


Cinnamon & Mistletoe

by outlawofnohr



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Cookies, Christmas Fluff, M/M, Mistletoe, Niles Secret Santa 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-24 01:33:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17091587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/outlawofnohr/pseuds/outlawofnohr
Summary: It’s Christmas Eve, and Prince Leo has completely forgotten that he promised Princess Elise some homemade cookies for Christmas, so he enlists the help of his loyal retainer, Niles- with one problem- neither of them have ever baked in a kitchen in their lives.





	Cinnamon & Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MogmaMittens](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MogmaMittens/gifts).



On Christmas Eve morning, Niles was woken with a start as he felt a weight on the edge of his bed, his hand quickly gripped around the handle of the dagger he kept underneath his pillow. However, upon opening his eye, he realised he had little to fear- for it was Prince Leo at the side of his bed, looking much more perky than he did most mornings- perhaps he felt different during the holiday season. Niles sure didn’t.

“Milord,” Niles’ voice croaked- he had just woken up, after all, his hand releasing from the blade, “Is something the matter? You frightened me half to death,”

“Not to worry, Niles. All is well. I didn’t mean to startle you,” there was a slight pink tint to the Prince’s cheeks, “You looked very peaceful in your slumber,” clearing his throat, Leo continued, “I need your help,”

Niles sat up in his bed, his bare chest almost glistening in the morning sun, and the Prince couldn’t help but stare at each scar littered across his skin.

“Of course, Milord. I’m at your disposal, always and forever. And what is it you need my help with?”

“I promised my little sister that I would make Christmas cookies for her this year, and I’ve only gone and _completely_ forgotten to do so, and I’ve left it almost too late,” It was quite amusing to Niles, seeing Leo so frustrated over something so trivial.

“So... you’d like me... to help you make cookies?” Niles raised an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Leo exhaled.

Niles thought for a moment, “Forgive me, Milord, but I don’t really consider myself the right person for this task. I fear my skills lie elsewhere, not in... baking,”

“Please!” Leo begged, “I already tried asking Odin but he’s come down with a terrible cold. You’re the only one I’d trust in the kitchen with me,”

Who was he to argue? This was his Prince, his Lord Leo- whom he was bound to serve for life- be it in battle or otherwise. And anyway, Niles could think of worse ways to spend Christmas Eve than in the kitchen with Leo. He’d spend all his eves with Leo if he could.

“Very well, but I’m afraid I can’t guarantee fruitful results. I don’t think I’ve ever baked in a kitchen before,” What Niles could remember of his past life was spent on the streets, the rest simply a blur.

“That’s okay,” Leo said, smiling, “Nor have I,”

—

Once in the kitchen, Leo dismissed all the castle cooks to give them space and time to complete the task at hand. Staring blankly at ingredients that had been left out for him, the Prince realised he had no idea where to start.

“Isn’t there a spell of some sort for this, Milord?” Niles teased.

“Tragically, there isn’t. Even if there was, I think Elise would be able to tell the difference between cookies made by hand and cookies made via magic. She’s a bit of an airhead, but not all the time,” 

“Surely she left you a recipe to follow?” Niles was pulling his hair back when Leo looked at him- a haircut was so long overdue that the retainer could tie a high ponytail.

Staring at Niles had the Prince completely falling from his train of thought.

“Uhhh... I... yes! Yes, she did,” rummaging in his pockets rather frantically, Leo produced a piece of scrap paper with some scribbled instructions on it (along with a little drawing of a very smiley Elise eating a plate of cookies at the bottom).

Scanning the paper quickly, Leo’s brow furrowed slightly, “Right. I think we can probably make sense of this,” All wasn’t lost, after all.

With a little girl’s vague and haphazardly written instructions, the pair set to work making the cookies. Leo measured out the ingredients meticulously before handing them over to Niles who stirred them together in a big bowl until a dough was formed. Then, using a large wooden rolling pin and a christmas-tree-shaped cookie cutter, they rolled out the mixture and cut as many cookies as they could before running out of dough.

“They look pretty good to me,” Niles said, resting a flour-covered hand on Leo’s shoulder- well, they were both covered in dry ingredients, really.

Leo cocked his head, before moving to move the trays of cookies into the oven for twenty-five minutes of baking. Now, all they could do was wait...

When the cookies emerged, they were a gorgeous golden brown, and the smell emerging was bound to fill the entire castle. However, what they looked like didn’t matter much right away, for if they tasted bad, they’d have to start all over again.

Although Niles offered to have the first taste, it was the Prince that ended up with a cookie in his mouth... and promptly spat _out_  of his mouth.

“Gods!” He spluttered, scrambling for a drink of water.

“What?! Are they bad?” Niles frowned.

“See for yourself,” Leo insisted, thrusting another cookie towards his retainer’s lips. 

Niles took a bite, chewing slowly with a grimace, and swallowing reluctantly, “Gods, you’re right. They’re awful,”

“I don’t understand!” Leo whined, “We followed the recipe... did you add the ginger when I told you to?”

“Yes, Milord Leo,”

“What about the nutmeg?”

“Yes, Milord Leo! Perhaps Lady Elise’s recipe was just... incorrect,”

“What are we going to do? We cant serve _these_ to the entire castle, we’ll make everybody sick!”

Leo was quite clearly highly agitated by the whole situation, but quite honestly, Niles found it endearing. The Prince truly put his heart and soul into everything, even something as trivial as making cookies in time for Christmas.

“Okay, okay, I have an idea...”

They hit Castle Krakenburg’s library, seeking out old cookbooks in search of a more... trustworthy recipe. Watching Prince Leo in the library was an activity in itself for Niles- the young blonde was truly in his element in a place of such bountiful knowledge. After about an hour of trawling through hundreds of pages of dozens of books, they returned to the kitchen with three different recipes just in case another disaster happened.

—

In total, the pair made eight batches of cookies (including one batch made entirely by Niles alone, because Leo frustratedly took a time-out after getting it wrong so many times), and eventually ended up with twenty-four identical cinnamon flavoured christmas-tree shaped cookies that were ready to be _truly ruined_ via icing and decoration. 

“Got there in the end, didn’t we, Milord? Seventh...no, _eighth_ time lucky,” Niles teased, and Leo rolled his eyes, “Now, you’ve got quite a steady hand, so I trust you’ll be the one doing the icing?”

“ _I’ve_  got quite a steady hand?” Leo laughed- the sound filling Niles with warmth- “I’m sorry, who here is the sharp-shooting thief-turned-archer royally appointed to protect the youngest Prince of Nohr until the day one of us dies?”

“I’m sorry, who’s only got one working eye?” Niles answered, and when Leo frowned, Niles smiled, dusting his hands off on his apron, “Well, when you big me up like that...”

Leo swatted him playfully, and as they both started to ice the cookies, Niles realised this was the first time he’d spent a prolonged period of time with Leo doing something other than training, studying or in battle. The two were close, but due to their positions they rarely got the chance to do much at all in the realms of “fun”. It was nice...almost _too_  nice, considering the kingdom was on the brink of a war and conflicts with rival kingdom Hoshido were getting more heated with each passing day. Even so, it certainly made a change for Niles to do something with somebody he admired as much as his Prince. It was his every desire to make Leo happy, after all.

Unsurprisingly, Niles’ cookies _did_  end up looking better than Leo’s- but the Prince only moaned a little, because his weren’t a complete disaster. One could still tell they were Christmas trees.

“I think we performed quite admirably, considering neither of us had any prior baking experience... though I certainly don’t envy Felicia and the other poor souls who’ll have to attend to this mess...” the kitchen was in a total state- hours worth of baking equipment and stray ingredients strewn about on every work surface (and the floor), finished cookies displayed neatly on a platter next to the oven.

“I think I’m ready for a very long nap, after all that,” Leo stretched his arms above his head, his mouth open in an audible yawn, “Thank you for helping me, Niles. I’d have been at a loss without you,”

“No need to thank me,” Niles shrugged, following the Prince as they started to make their way out of the kitchen, blissfully unaware that they were heading straight for a doorway donned with fresh mistletoe.

Niles had started it as a prank. Earlier in the week, he’d been putting up mistletoe throughout the castle to mess with its inhabitants- much to his delight, having witnessed a fair few red-faced and awkward kisses since installing his cheeky holiday decorations.

But he’d never stopped to consider the fact that _he_ might be the one to get caught under some mistletoe...and with Prince Leo, of all people? He daren’t even dream of it.

Yet here they were.

“Big brother! Have you finished my cook-“ Elise has been skipping up to them, her hair down in loose waves bouncing on her shoulders, before she stopped and grinned, spotting the mistletoe in the doorway.

“Elise? What is it?” Leo asked, perplexed at his little sister’s playful look.

“Mistletoe, big brother!” 

“Mistle...what?!” Leo looked up as Niles did- and sure enough, there it was- green and glistening above their heads.

Niles went just as red as Leo did.

“You two have to kiss! That’s the rule, isn’t it, Niles? That’s what you told me!” Elise giggled.

Niles swallowed, looking at Leo, “Milord, I’m sorry, I... I put that there just to mess with people, we don’t have to...” 

“Shut up,” Leo bit his lip, and in a sudden rush of confidence, gripping Niles’ shirt with both hands to pull him down to his level, kissed him firmly on the lips.

Niles barely had a chance to react before Leo had pulled away, offering a shy smile instead.

“Milord...” was all Niles managed.

“Merry Christmas, Niles,” Leo murmured.

Niles pulled him back by his waist for a deeper, longer kiss- one that left the Prince breathless.

“Merry Christmas, Milord Leo,” 

“Leo,”

“What?”

“Please. Just call me Leo,”

Niles sighed, Leo’s cheek rested in one hand, “Merry Christmas, Leo,”

**Author's Note:**

> I’m so nervous about posting this oh my gosh but I hope you liked it! I used a couple of the prompts given so I could flesh it out a bit, and tried to keep it as fluffy as possible. Fluff isn’t really my strong point, but since 18+ content wasn’t allowed for this project, it was kinda fun to do something different! The Niles Secret Santa exchange was something I’ve really enjoyed being a part of and I hope it continues to run in future years! Thank you so much for reading.


End file.
